Positive Therapeutic Effects of
Intercessory
Prayer in a Coronary Care Unit Population

RANDOLPH C. BYRD, MD, San Francisco, Calif

ABSTRACT: The therapeutic effects of
intercessory prayer (IP) to the Judeo-Christian
God, one of the oldest forms of therapy, has had little attention in the medical
literature.
To evaluate the effects of IP in a coronary care unit (CCU) population, a prospective
randomized double-blind protocol was followed. Over ten months, 393 patients admitted
to the CCU were randomized, after signing informed consent, to an intercessory prayer
group (192 patients) or to a control group (201 patients). While hospitalized, the first
group received IP by participating Christians praying outside the hospital; the control
group did not. At entry, chi-square and stepwise logistic analysis revealed no statistical
difference between the groups. After entry, all patients had follow-up for the remainder
of
the admission. The IP group subsequently had a significantly lower severity score based
on the hospital course after entry (P < .01). Multivariate analysis separated
the groups
on the basis of the outcome variables (P< .0001). The control patients
required
ventilatory assistance, antibiotics, and diuretics more frequently than patients in the IP
group. These data suggest that intercessory prayer to the Judeo-Christian God has a
beneficial therapeutic effect in patients admitted to a CCU.

WHO HAS NOT, during a time
of illness or pain, cried out to a higher being for help and healing? Praying for help and
healing is a fundamental con- cept in practically all societies, though the object to
which these prayers are directed varies among the religions of the world.1 In
western culture, the idea of praying for the benefit of others (inter- cessory prayer) to
the Judeo- Christian God is widely accepted and practiced. However, the medical literature
contains no scientific evidence either confirming or negating the healing effec- tiveness
of intercessory prayer. In only a few studies have scientific methods been used to attempt
to determine whether or not prayer is therapeutically effective,2-5 and these
studies have been inconclusive.6My study concerning prayer and patients in a general hospital
coronary care unit was designed to answer two questions: (1) Does intercessory prayer to
the Judeo-Christian God have any effect on the patient's medical condition and
recovery while in the hospital? (2) How are these effects characterized, if present?

From the Cardiology Division, Medical
Service, San Francisco General Medical Center, and the Department of Medicine, University
of California, San Francisco. Reprint requests to Randolph C. Byrd, MD, PO Box 179, Big
Bear City, CA 92314.

METHODSBetween August 1982 and May 1983, 393 patients were entered into a
prospective double blind randomized protocol to assess the therapeutic effects of
intercessory prayer.
All patients admitted to the coronary care unit at San Francisco General
Hospital were eligible for entry into the study; 57 patients refused for personal reasons,
religious convictions, and/or unwillingness to sign the informed consent.
Before entry, the nature of the project was fully explained to each patient
and informed consent was obtained. Patients were randomly assigned (using a
computer-generated list) either to receive or not to receive intercessory prayer. The
patients, the staff and doctors in the unit, and I remained "blinded','
throughout the study. As a precaution against biasing the study, the patients were not
contacted again. It was assumed that some of the patients in both groups would be prayed
for by people not associated with the study; this was not controlled for. Thus some of the
patients in the control group would be prayed for, whereas all of the patients in the
prayer group would be (i.e.,
by both nonassociated people and by the designated intercessors of the study).
For the purposes of this study, intercessors were chosen on the following
basis. They were "born again" Christians (according to the Gospel of John 3:3)
with an active Christian life as manifested by